West Point, N.Y. - Penn State's men's and women's swimming and diving teams are back in action this weekend after break, where they will face Army up in West Point.
Both teams will swim at 5 p.m. on Friday, January 12th.
Men's
The men's team is coming off a strong meet at the Big Al Invitational hosted by Princeton in early December, where they finished second overall.
During the meet in Princeton, the men's team took four event titles, one of which was sophomore Eduardo Cisternas in the mile with a 15:02.89. His time was five seconds faster than the second-place swimmer. Cisternas has been a major component for the Nittany Lions in the 500 free, where he placed first in the first three meets and finished second in the most recent meet at Princeton.
Junior Victor Baganha is also one to look out for this weekend. While in Princeton he took first in the 100 free and the 50 free during the Big Al Invitational. Baganha remains undefeated in the 50 free this season.
Lazzerini was the fourth winner of the meet in the 200 breaststroke. He and Baganha were also a part of the winning relay team at Princeton with teammates Tommy Hurley and Cooper Morley. This relay team will be looking for another win this weekend against Army.
On the diving side, Kevin Sullivan is one to watch. In the last meet he took second place in the 1 meter and the 3 meter. Teammate Hayden Elliott also placed in the 3-meter. Both have many first place finishes this season in the 1-meter, with Elliott taking first against St. Bonaventure and Navy. Kevin Sullivan earned a first place finish in the first meet against West Virginia.
The Army men's team has had a pretty successful season so far with wins against St. Bonaventure and Boston University and a loss against Navy.
Women's
Similar to the men's team, the women's team also came in second overall at the past meet in Princeton. They had several strong swims to secure them that spot.
Relays are one of the strongest areas as shown at the Big Al Invitational. Relay team of Catherine Meisner, Marly Lough, Margaret Markvardt, and Abby Henderson placed second overall in the 400 free relay, with Morgan Moore, Ellie Brandbergh, Carly Sebring, and Maura Fluehr right behind them. Penn State has shown their strength in the 400 free relay in many meets this season with top ranks against Navy and St. Bonaventure as well.
Senior Cat Stanford has been dominant this season in the freestyle events, specifically the 100 free, taking home three first place finishes in the first three meets of the season. She placed second in the 50 free at the midseason meet at Princeton, helping the women to their second place standing.
Sophomore Catherine Meisner is another strong freestyler with three wins in the 500 free this season. She placed second in the 200 free at Princeton and fifth in the 100 freestyle.
With the second place overall finish at the Princeton Big Al Invitational, the women's team also has three wins against West Virginia, St. Bonaventure, and Navy.
The Army women's team also has two wins and one loss so far this season.
Next Up
Following the meet this weekend, Penn State will compete again next weekend against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg Va., on Saturday January 20th.
For updates on Penn State swimming and diving, follow the team on Instagram (@pennstateswimdive), Twitter (@PennStateSwim) and Facebook (Penn State Swimming & Diving).
